Tag Archives: Marietta

The Cowboy’s Claim: Author Sinclair Jayne’s finale to her Coyote Cowboys of Montana series

June 10, 2024 · Posted by Tule Publishing

Hi Tuligans and Marietta fans,

I am so fired up that The Cowboy’s Claim—the fifth and last book in The Coyote Cowboys of Montana series will release on June 18th. I first roughed out the idea four years ago just as the pandemic started. I had two ideas—Special Forces soldiers peeling off to Marietta, Montana to do a good deed or make amends for a fallen friend, and the second idea was rodeo cowboy cousins who play a bride game during the Copper Mountain Rodeo to help their granddad. I brainstormed with my friend, Rusty Keller, March, 2020 at an Oregon beach just as the world started shuttering. It was such a weird and scary time that Tule suggested running with the fun, sexy rather mad cap idea of the Montana Rodeo Brides. I have to admit that series was fun, but organizing all the details and scenes and continuity was challenging because all three books happen simultaneously during the Copper Mountain Rodeo.

But I couldn’t let go of my Coyote Cowboys. It took a few years to write the series, and I have loved this group of heroes—their fierce loyalty to each other and determination to honor their friend even as the task they face is the last thing they want to do.

In The Cowboy’s Claim Calhoun Miller is tasked with solving a mystery in Marietta—something his fallen friend, Jace McBride, saw happen as a child. Calhoun arrives in Marietta, with little information, but he thrives on challenge. A sexy, anonymous hook up at Grey’s Saloon and the Graff Hotel is meant to blow off some steam before he starts his investigation. Instead, it leads him in a direction he never anticipated.

I was a little nervous writing this story because while it is utterly a romance, it also contains a central mystery. I have never written a mystery though I love to read them. I had been layering in little pieces of the mystery in each book—just a bread crumb in The Cowboy’s Word, a few more in Marry Me Please, Cowboy, The Cowboy’s Christmas Homecoming and The Cowboy Charm. But with the final book, I had to solve the sucker. And because I have a tendency to give in to impulse and inspiration, I make a lot of changes as I write. I knew it would be easy to derail the narrative. I think my very focused heroine, traveling doctor, Jory Quinn, who has always defied expectations, helped keep me organized and grounded.

Giving Jory and Calhoun a HEA in the most improbable circumstances, gave me such joy that I often had to get up from my desk and hop and dance around the last quarter of the book. Everything was coming together and yeah, bragging here, it felt more effortless than I had imagined it would.

I hope you get a chance to read The Cowboy’s Claim. I enjoyed writing the series so much that I took one of the characters who appears in the beginning of each book, Wolf Conte, and gave him a backstory and his own vow to Jace that will bring him to Last Stand Texas, another Tule town, this Christmas. Keep an eye out for Christmas with the Texas Cowboy coming this October!

For a fun GIVEAWAY, a question I have as I’ve been mulling ideas for future series—do you have a favorite hook or a fantasy profession—cowboy, soldier, doctor, entrepreneur, athlete, royal, celebrity, tycoon, vampire, shifter? Is there a job or profession you’ve always fantasized about? Comment below and we’ll pick one winner to receive a fun prize pack of goodies!

Thanks for your time and happy reading as we slide into summer.

Sinclair Jayne.

About the Author.

Sinclair Sawhney is a former journalist and middle school teacher who holds a BA in Political Science and K-8 teaching certificate from the University of California, Irvine and a MS in Education with an emphasis in teaching writing from the University of Washington. She has worked as Senior Editor with Tule Publishing for over seven years. Writing as Sinclair Jayne she’s published fifteen short contemporary romances with Tule Publishing with another four books being released in 2021. Married for over twenty-four years, she has two children, and when she isn’t writing or editing, she and her husband, Deepak, are hosting wine tastings of their pinot noir and pinot noir rose at their vineyard Roshni, which is a Hindi word for light-filled, located in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Shaandaar!

10 Years in the Making: How Megan Crane’s Love of Marietta Led to Cowboy Point

May 9, 2024 · Posted by Tule Publishing

Ten years ago I went on a spectacular writing retreat on Flathead Lake in Montana and dreamed up a town called Marietta with a few friends I bet you’ve heard of. Later that year, my book TEMPT ME, COWBOY was not only the first book ever published by Tule—it was the very first book set in Marietta, Montana.

Since then I’ve written a bunch of quirky novellas and books set in and around Marietta, or having some connection to Marietta, as I (mostly) followed a bunch of cousins from the extended Grey family through their sometimes deliciously tortured journeys toward happy ever afters. I’ve gone on more Montana writing retreats—including one that took us on a road trip across the west to Deadwood, South Dakota, for an epic rodeo. I dipped in and out of Marietta over the years, and have a lot of pretty deep feelings about the place. To me, it feels like a place I lived in once and had to move away from.

Last fall, I got to revisit Marietta for the first time in years. I wrote TEMPT ME PLEASE COWBOY and got deeply nostalgic for cowboys, Montana, and beautiful Paradise Valley. Another road trip up from Jackson Hole, through the Tetons and Yellowstone and on to Livingston, sealed the deal. I was nostalgic for big skies, soaring mountains, and cowboys who feel a little like both.

I wanted to come back to what feels so much like home to me.

That’s how Cowboy Point was born.

Cowboy Point is a tiny community on the other side of Copper Mountain, a good ten mile drive—in good weather—into Marietta.

The community is a mix of old time miners’ families who found the copper barons down in the valley a bit too heavy handed for their tastes back in the 1850s, cowboys and ranchers who’ve worked the land in the Gallatin Range’s more remote valleys for generations, the usual mountain types who are drawn to far off places, and the artists and other hermit-minded fancier folk that are everywhere in Montana these days.

Cowboy Point has no stoplights but it does boast one elementary school while the older kids are bussed into Marietta, weather permitting. There’s one small but feisty library, a feed store, and the General Store with its selection of conveniences on one side, a diner of sorts in the middle, and a bar on the other side over the creek. Not long ago, some folks opened up a pizza and ice cream sort of place across the road, and sometimes there’s live, local music to go along with the family-friendly atmosphere. There’s even the old Cowboy Point Lodge, the Jewel of the Rockies in its days, that has fallen into disrepair since the Stark Boys (now dead or in their 70s) spent their entire lives arguing over who should get to run it.

Most people either have deep roots here, like the Starks, and therefore a tangled family history to work out. Some have that and a grudge, like the Careys and the Lisles, who have been feuding since day one. Newcomers—meaning anyone who turned up after the early 1900s—might have fewer feuds and less ancient tangles, but one thing they all share is a deep sense of pride and place.

You have to want to live in Cowboy Point. It’s a lot easier to slide on down the mountain into Paradise Valley and live in places with fewer memories and a whole lot more services.

But once the high mountain air gets a hold of you, not to mention the spectacular views across one of the most beautiful places in all of Montana, you might find it hard to call anywhere else home.

That’s true for Harlan Carey, the oldest of the Carey brothers. He’s spent his whole life on his family’s ranch, was born on the land and intends to die on it—but not without doing his part to continue the family legacy.

Meaning: he needs a wife.

But he’s an overly practical man, so he figures that instead of dating around with time he doesn’t have, he’ll place an ad in the paper for the exact wife he wants, just like cowboys did for years when the west was still wild:

Cowboy looking for wife to work the land, help with the business, and raise the next generation. Must be practical, reasonable, and honest.

When Kendall Darlington answers this ad, Harlan has himself a mail-order bride. He figures that the fact she’s so pretty is a distraction, but once they get used to each other, they’ll figure out how to have the sort of practical relationship he wants.

Except more time with Kendall only means more ways to want her, and that’s before her messy past comes calling…

There are five books planned in the Careys of Cowboy Point series, all of which you can read about here, and no shortage of other fine folks in the area, so here’s hoping we get to spend a lot of time there together: https://megancrane.com/series/the-careys-of-cowboy-point/

The first in the series, THE COWBOY’S MAIL-ORDER BRIDE, comes out May 9 and I can’t wait to introduce you to Cowboy Point!

I hope you’ll love it there as much as I do!

About the Author.

USA Today bestselling, multi-award-nominated, and critically-acclaimed author Megan Crane has written more than 145 books, and shows no sign of slowing down. She publishes romance as Megan Crane and M.M. Crane with an exciting backlist of women’s fiction, rom-coms, chick lit, and young adult novels. She’s also won a large and loyal fanbase as Caitlin Crews with Harlequin Presents, Harlequin Dare, Harlequin Historical, and contemporary cowboy books. And for paranormal fun, Megan partners with Nicole Helm to publish as Hazel Beck for her witchy rom-com novels.

Megan has a Masters and Ph.D. in English Literature, has taught creative writing classes in places like UCLA Extension’s prestigious Writers’ Program, and is always available to give workshops (or her opinion). She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her comic book artist husband, though, at any given time, she is likely to either be huddled in a coffee shop somewhere or off traveling the world. Preferably both.

“Write What You’re Dealing With” – A Message from Tule Author Sinclair Jayne on Her Recent Release (Plus a GIVEAWAY!)

February 24, 2024 · Posted by Tule Publishing

Writing The Cowboy Charm was cathartic for me. What I didn’t expect was that it would be so much fun. I had had a couple of tough years struggling with the combination that I think so many of us go through at some point—balancing taking care of my mom’s declining health with launching my kids who were both in college but not far from my mind, while still trying to build my career and emotionally support my husband whose career was in a market flux. I was at a writing retreat—planning out book two in my Coyote Cowboys of Montana series (having written books one and three and starting to think about book four) and my friend Jane Porter said ‘write what you’re dealing with—make it work for you.’

So I did. I didn’t want The Cowboy Charm to be dark. I wanted it to be realistic and explore a valley in life, and yet focus on walking up the next hill. There will inevitably be times when we are grieving the loss of a loved one, a job, a friend, the future or opportunity we thought we’d have, and yet, if we keep going forward, acknowledging the loss or disappointment, we will find a shaft of light and a door opening.

When an author has a slightly heavier theme or a hero or heroine who is struggling, it’s important to find the light and laughter, and so Ryder Lea was born. I love my soldier/cowboy. He could be bitter or angry or shut down, but he’s not at all. He’s mister all in, hand raised, I got this. Usually in a group, that’s me, so in a way I was putting pieces of myself in a hero—not something I feel like I’ve done before. And yet he’s so much more—physical, eager, loyal and goal oriented. Totally ‘a dish’—something my grandma used to say, although I am not sure what meal he would be—lasagna comes to mind (because I love it and it’s tasty).

The story is set—of course—in my favorite town of Marietta, Montana. In January. Brrrrrr, but Ryder brings the heat and sunlight and ‘can do’ attitude. Funny secret about that (shshshsh). I chose his last name—Lea—because it’s the last name of my niece, Reeva’s husband, John. Before I met John, my brother-in-law and sister-in-law kept saying he was a ‘can do guy.’ That’s all they’d say about him. Over and over, and other people who met him in the family said the same thing. Nothing else. And my husband and I just thought that was hilarious—like all the Sawhney’s were brainwashed (or non verbal). We just had so much fun playing with that concept, and of course our daughter—16 at the time John and Reeva were getting married in a ginormous slap down Indian wedding (featured in my Misguided Masala Matchmaker series) joined in on the fun.

But, just like John (I can think of dozens of fabulous adjectives for), Ryder is so much more than ‘can-do,’ and he and Edison, my heroine, complement each other. He warms and heals her, and she in turn boosts him up as she sees all of his goodness and possibility. I loved the challenge of taking two characters who’d had some tragedies in their lives, but were determined to keep living, meet in improbable circumstances in the dead middle of winter, and yet find such joy and hope and of course an HEA that even made me cry a little.

Hope you enjoy! Interested in more? Find me at https://sinclairjayne.com and sign up for my newsletter! Also, as a thank you for reading this, one lucky person picked from the comments on this post, will win a signed print copy of The Cowboy Charm and some Marietta and Sinclair Jayne swag!

About the Author.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, MONTANA – Release Day Blog Post Featuring Author Elsa Winckler!

October 16, 2023 · Posted by Tule Publishing

It’s release day for Merry Christmas, Montana, the final story in the Millers of Marietta series. I had so much fun planning Riley’s and Mitch’s story, not only because I fell a little bit in love with the hero myself while writing him, but also because it’s a Christmas story.

I love everything about Christmas – the trees, the lights, the songs, the decorations, buying presents for the grandkiddies, baking cookies, planning the menu, welcoming the kids home.

I’m from South Africa, so for us Christmas means long, hot summer days and braais, the Afrikaans word for “barbeque”. Most South African boys can braai before they can talk! It’s the time of year when schools close and people go on holiday. Christmas for us, like everywhere else, is also more than just a holiday, it’s a time for cherished traditions, heart-warming moments and family.

And have I mentioned how much I love Christmas songs? Even though most of them don’t make any sense in sunny South Africa! When writing this story, though, I had the delightful opportunity to “escape” to Marietta, Montana where Christmas is actually “white”, where words like “reindeer” and “sleighbells” and “sleigh ride” and “snowman” are indeed the appropriate words to use in a Christmas song!

In this story Mitch and Riley find the courage to give love another chance, to step out of their comfort zones and find happiness – my wish for all of you this year.

Thank you for all the messages and reviews – I so appreciate your feedback.

Whether you’re in front of a fireplace or on a beach, I hope you’ll enjoy this story!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

About the Author.

I have been reading love stories for as long as I can remember and when I ‘met’ the classic authors like Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, Henry James The Brontë sisters, etc. during my Honours studies, I was hooked for life.

I married my college boyfriend and soul mate and after 43 years, 3 interesting and wonderful children and 3 beautiful grandchildren, he still makes me weak in the knees. We are fortunate to live in the picturesque little seaside village of Betty’s Bay, South Africa with the ocean a block away and a beautiful mountain right behind us. And although life so far has not always been an easy ride, it has always been an exciting and interesting one!

I like the heroines in my stories to be beautiful, feisty, independent and headstrong.  And the heroes must be strong but possess a generous amount of sensitivity. They are of course, also gorgeous!  My stories typically incorporate the family background of the characters to better understand where they come from and who they are when we meet them in the story.

PROMISE ME PLEASE, COWBOY – Release Day Blog Post Featuring Author CJ Carmichael!

September 26, 2023 · Posted by Tule Publishing

Ten years. That’s how long Tule Publishing has been in business. I feel fortunate to be one of the “founding” authors for this business. My involvement dates back to a phone call from Jane Porter when she asked if I would have any interest in writing a book for this new company she was thinking of starting. We agreed to meet at my cabin in Montana and brainstorm some ideas. The guest list grew to include Megan Crane and Lillian Darcy—two talented authors who I was soon going to get to know very well!

The four of us talked characters and stories; we cannon-balled off the dock into “refreshing” Flathead Lake, and then started drawing a map of our fictional town. Lillian christened our town “Marietta” and we baked luscious cherry crisp to celebrate. Once we had the concept for our 75th Copper Mountain Rodeo stories down, we hit the road, challenging the capacity of my medium-sized sedan’s trunk.

We drove through Missoula, then Butte and Bozeman, until reaching Livingston, the approximate location we wanted for our fictional town. We took dozens of photographs of things that inspired us. Historic homes, traditional barns, beautiful horses and majestic mountains. As we cut through scenic Paradise Valley we mentally created ranches and legacies, family conflicts and tragedies, world-building for the stories to come.

This trip did more than cement friendships and create memories that I’ll cherish all my life. It also inspired books which became the foundation of a new publishing company.

With Tule Publishing I’ve had the creative freedom to write books on my own terms, the kind of books that I longed for as a reader. Over the past ten years I’ve written seven stories in my Carrigans of the Circle C series, two stories in the multi-author Love at the Chocolate Shop series, and four stories in the Bitter Root Mystery series. I’ve also re-published four titles that I previously published with Harlequin.

Now, with the publication of Promise Me Please, Cowboy, I want to thank Jane Porter for including me on this amazing journey of hers. Thanks for that phone call Jane! And here’s to the next ten years for Tule Publishing!

About the Author

CJ Carmichael headshot

USA Today Bestselling author C. J. Carmichael has written over 45 novels in her favorite genres of romance and mystery. She has been nominated twice for the Romance Writers of America RITA Award, as well as RT Bookclub’s Career Achievement in Romantic Suspense award, and the Bookseller’s Best honor.

She gave up the thrills of income tax forms and double entry book-keeping in 1998 when she sold her first book to Harlequin Super-romance. Since then she has published over 35 novels with Harlequin and is currently working on a series of western romances with Tule Publishing. In addition C. J. Carmichael has published several cozy mystery series as an Indie author.

When not writing C. J. enjoys family time with her grown daughters and her husband. Family dinners are great. Even better are the times they spend hiking in the Rocky Mountains around their home in Calgary, and relaxing at their cottage on Flathead Lake, Montana. Visit C.J.’s website at http://CJCarmichael.com

MARRY ME PLEASE, COWBOY – Release Day Blog Post by Author Sinclair Jayne! (Plus Giveaway!)

September 19, 2023 · Posted by Tule Publishing

Happy September Tuligans!

Fall is my favorite season (pumpkin-spice!), but September is my favorite month because as a student and then a teacher I was heading back to school and now it’s my daughter’s birthday month. I’ve been crazy anticipating this September because it’s Tule Publishing’s 10th birthday. I know tin or aluminum is considered traditional to celebrate the 10-year-anniversary, and while that may not sound exciting or romantic, those materials are known to be resilient, and Tule Publishing has definitely been resilient this past productive decade.

Tule Publishing is the brain-child of author and publisher Jane Porter and her author friends and fellow creative geniuses Megan Crane, CJ Carmichael and Lilian Darcy. The four of them roadtripped through Montana and inspired by their friendship, the gorgeous scenery, and desire to support other authors’ creative visions, they created the town of Marietta, Montana in Paradise Valley. Ten years later, Marietta is still going strong (and the Tule world has grown far outside Montana) as evidenced by how we decided to celebrate.

The first Marietta series included four romance novellas playing out during the (invented) 75th Copper Mountain Rodeo. Take Me Cowboy by Jane Porter, Tempt Me Cowboy by Megan Crane, Marry Me Cowboy by Lilian Darcy and Promise Me Cowboy by CJ Carmichael. To celebrate we decided to attend the 85th Copper Mountain rodeo, and lucky me, Jane Porter, Megan Crane and CJ Carmichael invited on their adventure.

CJ hosted us in Canmore in Alberta, Canada (in January—brrrr) where we laughed, walked, savored the scenery and occasionally plotted and created our cowboys. I’ve been an editor at Tule for about nine and a half years, and I have seen Marietta grow and thrive, and I’m thrilled to once again be a part of Marietta and the Copper Mountain Rodeo.

Marry Me Please, Cowboy was such a fun book to write because…cowboy, barrel racing cowgirl, secret baby, jilted bride, former special forces soldier, and a “death bed” vow to a best friend. I loved being back in Marietta, and once again obsessing over bull and bronc riders on YouTube. While my book is part of Tule’s Ten Year Anniversary 85th Copper Mountain Rodeo, it’s also going to spin out from the birthday celebration in October to become book two in my Coyote Cowboys of Montana series—yes, also set in Marietta, of course.

For an autographed copy of book one in the Montana Coyote Cowboy’s series—the Cowboy’s Word and some Montana and cowboy reader swag, tell me where you would want to go on a retreat with a group of friends—what would you do there…maybe start your own town?

Marry Me Please, Cowboy releases September 19th, and I will be hanging out with Tuligans in the Tule Book Group at 4 pm (PST) on my release date.

Happy September and happier reading—Sinclair Jayne.

About the Author.

Sinclair Sawhney is a former journalist and middle school teacher who holds a BA in Political Science and K-8 teaching certificate from the University of California, Irvine and a MS in Education with an emphasis in teaching writing from the University of Washington. She has worked as Senior Editor with Tule Publishing for over nine years. Writing as Sinclair Jayne she’s published fifteen short contemporary romances with Tule Publishing with another four books being released in 2021. Married for over twenty-four years, she has two children, and when she isn’t writing or editing, she and her husband, Deepak, are hosting wine tastings of their pinot noir and pinot noir rose at their vineyard Roshni, which is a Hindi word for light-filled, located in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Shaandaar!

A MATCH MADE IN MONTANA – Release Day Blog Post Featuring Elsa Winckler

June 29, 2023 · Posted by Tule Publishing

If you’re a die hard romantic like me, you probably also love romantic comedies – whether it’s a book, a play or a movie. The laugh-out-loud ones but also the laugh-with-a-tear ones. I haven’t set out to write Annie’s and Craig’s story as a comedy, it just ended up that way. The basic plot for a romantic comedy, Google tells me is 1. Meet 2. Lose and 3. Get.

I love writing the meet-cute moment but because A Match Made in Montana is the second story in the Millers of Marietta series, Annie and Craig have already met so I had to find a way to have them “meet” in a cute way again – hence the first scene in the book where Annie is lying in a hammock and reading a very vivid description of a heroine’s bodily reaction to the hero in the story!

Maybe it’s also because they have both been hurt before and are struggling to leave the past behind that I instinctively added more funny moments than what I usually do. The chances that they can have their happily ever after are slim, there are so many obstacles, but as we’ve come to realize by now, the magic of Marietta and Copper Mountain has a way of bringing lost souls together.

I’ve been writing romance since 2008 and I’ve discovered some characters are harder to forget than others. Annie Miller, the heroine in A Match Made in Montana is one of those characters that seems to be stuck in my mind. Maybe because she’s so different from most of the other feisty and more forceful heroines I’ve written. In contrast to most of her friends and her sister, Viv, Annie is a homebody. She’s a natural caretaker and nurturer. Nothing gives her more pleasure than to feed people and to see them enjoy the food she’s made – the reason why her fiancé dumped her weeks before their wedding. According to him, she’s not enough of a go-getter.

The Irishman, as her brother Mitch calls Craig, has been in her mind since he’s hugged her goodbye during his first visit to Marietta. Now he’s back for his cousin Aiden’s and sister Vivian’s wedding and it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to ignore the obvious spark between them.

The more time she spends with the big red head, the more she likes him, but Annie is still bruised and unsure of herself. Why would a hot-shot marketing guru from Portland be interested in her?

Finding a happy-ever-after for Annie and Craig has been a challenge, there are so many obstacles in their way, but as we romance lovers know by now, never underestimate the magic of love. It will find a way.

To win an e-book copy of Book 1, My Montana Valentine, in the The Millers of Marietta series, tell us about your favorite Marietta couple! Or perhaps tell us what your favorite romantic comedy movie is?

I hope you enjoy Annie’s and Craig’s story! Thanks for stopping by.

About the author